Cops had just one clue to go on

The only lead that the Mumbai police had in the kidnap of six-year-old Karnit Shah, was a brief description of Khan (Sunny), who was seen distributing sweets to the children in the area. A sketch of Khan was prepared and circulated around the city.

The only lead that the Mumbai police had in the kidnap of six-year-old Karnit Shah, was a brief description of Khan (Sunny), who was seen distributing sweets to the children in the area. A sketch of Khan was prepared and circulated around the city.

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Karnit was kidnapped fourteen days ago from outside his residence at Pranik Gardens in Kandivli (West). Then two days ago, the family received a call demanding a ransom of Rs one crore. Two more calls were made and the amount was finalised at Rs 10 lakh.

Police sources said, “One call was made from a landline in Nashik, while the other came from a mobile phone in the same area. This was done to mislead the police into thinking the child was in Nashik.

The SIM card used for the call was disposed of, but, when we traced the incoming and outgoing calls made from the mobile number in Nashik to a city number in Malad, we found that it belonged to Khan.” The police arrested Khan who then led them to Gupta, Barose and finally to Bind and his brother in Handya.

“Bind who was with Karnit had learnt that about the arrest of his accomplices and had decided to kill the boy. But, our team had reached the spot and nabbed him before he could do that. We all were scared that the boy would be harmed. The family is lucky to get their son back,” police commissioner Arup Patnaik added.